Syd Barrett (1946–2006) was an English rock musician who was best known as the original frontman and primary songwriter of Pink Floyd. With the band, he recorded and wrote the majority of songs for their first album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, and was credited for one song ("Jugband Blues") on their second album A Saucerful of Secrets. To this day, his Pink Floyd songs are used frequently on the band's various compilations.
After he left Pink Floyd, he recorded two solo albums, The Madcap Laughs and Barrett. Both albums, released in 1970, were re-released as a double album in 1974, after the unexpected success of Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon. On 24 February 1970, he recorded five songs (one from The Madcap Laughs, three from Barrett, and a one-off, "Two of a Kind") for the BBC Radio show Top Gear. These songs were released as a mini-album, in 1987, as Syd Barrett: The Peel Session. In 2004, the five songs from Top Gear, and three songs from a then-newly discovered tape of Bob Harris show, were released as The Radio One Sessions.
Solo career Albums Studio + List of studio albums, with selected chart positions Title Album details Peak chart positions UK The Madcap Laughs Released: 2 January 1970 Label: Harvest/EMI 40 Barrett Released: November 1970 Label: Harvest/EMI —
Live + List of live albums, with selected details Title Album details The Peel Session Released: 25 January 1987 Label: Strange Fruit The Radio One Sessions Released: 29 March 2004 Label: Strange Fruit
Compilations + List of compilation albums, with selected chart positions Title Album details Peak chart positions UK US Syd Barrett Released: 14 November 1974 Label: Harvest/EMI — 163 Opel Released: 17 October 1988 Label: Harvest/EMI — — Octopus: The Best of Syd Barrett Released: 29 May 1992 Label: Cleopatra Records — — Crazy Diamond Released: 26 April 1993 Label: Harvest/EMI — — The Best of Syd Barrett: Wouldn't You Miss Me? Released: 16 April 2001 Label: Harvest/EMI — — An Introduction to Syd Barrett Released: 19 October 2010 Label: Harvest/EMI 104 — "—" denotes a release that did not chart.
Singles Title Year Album "Octopus" 1969 The Madcap Laughs
Appearances Joy of a Toy by Kevin Ayers (November 1969): plays guitar on "Religious Experience" ("Singing a Song in the Morning") – bonus track on remastered 2003 CD.
See also Pink Floyd discography List of songs recorded by Syd Barrett
References
Biblobiography